Corvo
by J-Person
Summary: This is my spin on the story of the game Dishonored. It is the first fan-fic I have ever written so I expect it won't be the best work of literature in history but it should be pretty fun. Enjoy and please like and comment and feel free to give suggestions for later chapters. Also, just to put it out there, I'm writing this entire thing on my iPod. Thanks.
1. Coming Home

_Corvo, if only there was someone else I trusted to send so that you could remain near. But there is no one else, and the Spymaster was right to insist that I send you. The plague has taken so many and we must find a cure. When you are near my heart is at peace. Emily and I will count the days until you return. Hurry home and bring good news._

Corvo Attano read the letter over and over again, smiling. I'll be back soon, he thought silently, _But not with the good news you desire._

"Steady hand. That's it. Watch it! Cast off line."  
"Casting off line. And we're away."

_Finally, off that god damn ship_, Corvo thought.

"Take us straight to Dunwall Tower. Lord Corvo has important news for the Empress and it's been a long journey."

"It's been far too long," Corvo said, "and all we have for it is crappy news that helps us in no way."

"Aye, sailors are saying that Black Magic is at work in Dunwall, that we've been cursed," the man driving the boat said.

"Call it what you will, the situation's bad," Corvo concluded.

"I can't argue with that," the driver agreed.

As Corvo looked forward he saw that the boat was approaching the lock.

"Ho there. We're coming up," the driver shouted.

From above a voice called, "Lock is sealed. Ready! Turning on the pipes... and... she's rising!"

Several moments after he said so, water rained down from the walls and filled the lock. In as little as twenty seconds the ship had reached the top.

"Steady pressure! And... stop! Shut 'er down."

As Corvo exited the boat he could hear one a mechanic complaining to one of his co-workers, "All this new technology's way too touchy," he said.

"We'll you design something better," his associate responded.

"No thanks, I'll leave that to the geniuses," he finalised.

Corvo walked on and as he reached a bridge, he saw a very familiar young girl running towards his with her arms outstretched.

"Corvo, you're back!" cried Emily, the daughter of the Empress.

As she reached him Corvo swept her off her feet saying, "There you are my princess, it's been to long."

"Tell me about your trip," she said in her sweet little voice, "Did you see any whales?"

"Plenty, how's life in the castle been?" He enquired.

"It's been really dull, everyone's been so busy being worried about the plague that I haven't been noticed much at all." She complained, "Hey, do you wanna play a game of Hide & Seek?"

"I'm sorry but I've got to give this not to your mother."

"Oh come on, she's busy talking to the grumpy old Spymaster. Please." She said sweetly.

"OK but it has to be quick," Corvo settled, falling for her royal charm.

"Yay! We'll play under the bridge. Come on!" She urged.

"I'm coming," Corvo said following her down the ramp.

"Okay, you hide and I'll seek," said the little princess, "One... Two... Three...

Corvo looked for a hiding spot and went for a spot behind a short metal wall.

"Eight... Nine... Ten... Here I come!"

Emily looked around for a while but after a minute or so she said, "Okay, you win! Now let go and see mother."

Corvo came out hiding and followed Emily up towards the Tower.

On their way Corvo say High Overseer Campbell having a portrait of him painted by Sokolov the inventor and creator of the elixir designed to combat the Rat Plague.

"Hello Lord Protector, welcome back from your voyage," Campbell said warmly.

"How do you do, High Overseer," Corvo responded.

"Please hold still Mr Campbell," said Sokolov.

"Sorry, it won't happen again," Campbell replied.

Looking at the painting Emily said, "I don't think that looks like Campbell."

Corvo and Emily resumed the walk up to the Tower and in a short time they were there.

Just as they arrived, Corvo heard the Empress in conversation with the Spymaster, "They're sick people, not criminals," she was saying.

"We've gone beyond that question you're majesty," the Spymaster answered harshly, "They're..."

"They're my citizens," interrupted the Empress, "and we will save them from the plague if we can. All of them."

"Very well then," he surrendered.

"We will not discuss this again," the Empress said, ending all discussion.

By this point Emily had ran up to her mother and said, "Mother, Corvo's back."

As the Spymaster left he spotted Corvo, "Corvo, two days early. Full of surprises as usual."

"I try," said Corvo simply.

"It is a fair wind that brings you home to me Corvo," said the Empress, "What news do you bring from outside the city?"

"Bad I'm afraid," Corvo said sadly, "Here," he handed her an envelope.

The Empress opened the envelope and read the letter. After a few moments her face became sad. "I hoped the other cities had dealt with this before. That they knew of a cure. This is very bad news. The city can't take this much longer."

She dropped the letter and became angry. "Cowards! They're going to blockade us. They'll wait to see if the plague turns the city into a graveyard."

Seeing her mothers sad face, Princess Emily asked, "Mother, are you OK? You seem sad."

"Yes don't worry darling. Everything's fine," the Empress assured her. "Wait, where are the guards? Who sent them away?"

"Mother!" Emily exclaimed, "Who are those men? What are they doing on the rooftops?"

Corvo turned around to see the men she was pointing to. "Get down!" He shouted as one of them teleported to a spot only a few metres away. The first man charged with a sword in hand and Corvo instinctively took his pistol out of its holster and fired. Instead of the usual fall over and die routine that most people do when they're shot he dissipated into thin air.

Another man appeared to Corvo's right brandishing his sword and Corvo ducked under a blow that would have beheaded him and pierced his sword through his neck. Before he had even retreated the blade from No. 2 he fired a shot from his pistol into No. 3's chest. Both of them disappeared just like the first.

"Corvo, I can't imagine what would have happened if you weren't..." the Empress began only to be interrupted by a loud scream from her daughter.

"Look! Corvo!"

Two more figures appeared but before Corvo could do anything one of them raised his hands and somehow lifted a now immobilised Corvo into the air. Corvo went completely limp and was unable to keep a grip on his pistol or sword.

The other figure rushed Emily and the Empress with his sword in hand. Pushing the Princess aside he grabbed the Empress by the throat and plunged his blade into her torso.

"NO!" the heartbroken Corvo screamed.

By now Corvo had been dropped and the one who'd been holding him grabbed the Princess and disappeared. The Empress's killer gave Corvo a final glance and disappeared.

Corvo crawled over to her dying body.

"Corvo..." she struggled to form her words, "Corvo... Find Emily... Find..." And at that moment the Empress breathed her last breath.

"I will," Corvo solemnly said, "I promise."

Looking up Corvo saw a group of City Watch guards approaching with Spymaster Burrows at the head.

"Corvo, you are hereby under arrest for the murder of Empress Jessamine," Burrows announced, "What have you done with you young lady Emily," he demanded.

"I haven't done anything to her," Corvo told him, "I didn't kill Jessamine! Believe me!"

Ignoring Corvo, Burrows ordered, "Take this traitor away!"

One of the guards raised his sword and the last thing Corvo saw was the hilt slam mining into his face.


	2. The Escape: Coldridge Prison

Six Months Later

Corvo woke up bound to an interrogation chair with High Overseer Campbell standing before him and Lord Regent Burrows beside him.

"This is your last chance Corvo," Campbell warned, "Sign the confession and let me perform the rites to put your soul at ease."

"You don't seem to get it do you Sullivan," Corvo said patronisingly, "I've been telling you for six frickin months, I didn't kill Jessamine and I sure as hell didn't touch Emily. So you might as well just shut up and get over with the execution."

"I thought you would say something like that," Campbell turned to the guard beside him, "Do it."

Oh cra... "Aaaagh!" Corvo screamed as the guard branded him, "Screw you, you bastard!"

"That's enough for know," said the Lord Regent to the guard, "Let's give the man some time to think."

Immediately after the he left the room Burrows began, "Corvo, the Empress is dead and Lady Emily is missing and no one will ever know the truth.

"Yes unlucky you," the High Overseer said, "Tomorrow you'll be executed, but it's for a good cause. This country needs strong leadership in this time of crisis, someone to guide the weak, that's where we come in."

"I assure you that there was nothing personal about this," said Burrows, "Even though because of you our plans were almost ruined. But it turned out for the best in the end. You were in the wrong place at the right time, and someone has to take the fall. Goodbye, Corvo."

As he was leaving Corvo heard him shout, "Corvo take him back to his cell.

~~~~~•~~~~~

The doors of his cell opened and Corvo could see a silhouetted figure standing there. "You should eat Corvo. This meal comes from a friend." He laid a plate down on the floor and walled away, closing the door behind himself.

Corvo pulled himself out of his bed and crawled over to the plate. On it there was a loaf of bread. In a few short moments he had wolfed it down and was now examining the note that had been concealed beneath the loaf.

Corvo,

Who we are is irrelevant right now. Just know that we have faith in you.

Her is the key to your cell. Once you're out, head for the Interrogation Room. Take the explosive there and plant it on the Outer Door. When the bomb goes off, run. Make for the river and lose yourself in the sewers. You'll find useful gear stashed there.

One of the prison guards will leave a weapon just outside your cell.

And good luck. We need you alive and well for what's to come.

-A Friend

Well, Corvo thought, Isn't that handy.

Corvo opened the door of his cell and lo and behold on a table only a few steps away from the door of his cell was a sword as well as some coins that Corvo scooped into his pockets.

So following the instructions given to him, Corvo headed for the Interrogation Room. In the first room he entered he saw three guard, one of them standing in the shadows with his back turned to Corvo.

Deciding it would be best not to kill him, Corvo wrapped his arm around the the guards neck and strangled him until he fell unconscious. Corvo took his body back into the previous room and placed him into his cell. Closing and locking the door Corvo continued on his way.

Sneaking past the other guards was easy and on a wall Corvo found a pistol, some ammo and a bottle of Sololov's Health Elixir. He put the spare bullets and Elixir into his pocket and kept his pistol at the ready.

Moving on, Corvo had to climb a wall to continue on his way. At the top of the ledge Corvo found another two bottles of Elixir, some more ammo, coins and a tin of whale meat which he took the time to eat.

Before opening the next door Corvo looked through the keyhole to see if anyone was there. He saw one guard standing still with his back turned. Quietly opening the door, Corvo crept toward the guard and silently grabbed the key off of his belt and then strangled him until he fell unconscious.

Turning left, Corvo stole across the walkway like a shadow and opened the next door using his newly acquired key.

Through that door was a corridor and the one guard patrolling he was quietly put to sleep and liberated of his money pouch by Corvo.

At the end of the corridor was a flight of stairs that Corvo followed to the lower floor. Corvo then opened the door that led into the Interrogation Room. Corvo entered the room and played and audio graph.

Corvo heard the Lord Regent's voice saying:

Corvo's unconscious again. Though he's taken more punishment than any two men we've brought in for interrogation. When he wakes, we'll start again. Having him sign the confession for her murder isn't critical, but it might be useful to us later. The assassination of an Empress is not a trivial matter.

After listening to the audio graph, Corvo grabbed the explosive out of the safe and picked up some coins that were lying around.

Leaving the Interrogation Room, Corvo went into the yard.

"Hackworth, you lazy slug. Did you patrol the Yard?" Corvo heard one guard saying.

"Sorry, not yet. I was gonna report that boiler leak from yesterday," said who Corvo assumed to be Hackworth.

"Forget it. Just do your rounds," said the first voice, "A report's trouble for both of us."

"I'm movin'," said Hackworth.

Still hiding in the shadows, Corvo made his way behind Hackworth and with a hand over his mouth dragged him into the shadows with him.

"Hey Hackworth," the other guard called.

No response.

"Hackworth?"

No response.

"Hackworth!"

q and ammo, Corvo moved on to the next room. I there he could see two guard talking, one in the open and the other inside one half of a control booth. After their conversation ended the guard in the open walked away and Corvo made his way to the booth. Checking through the keyhole he saw that his target had his back turned so he quickly opened and shut the door making next to no sound and knocked the guard out.

He exited the booth and saw that the other guard was turning to come back. Like his friend he too was strangled.

Corvo moved on to the second half of the booth and saw that within it there was a third guard. Corvo slipped inside and quickly gave him a good hard fist to the face, knocking him out and giving him a blood nose.

Corvo used the controls to open the large metal gates. With a lot of screeching and groaning the gates opened. As soon as the gates opened Corvo leapt forward and pulled a guard who was standing directly in front of the gate and knocked him out.

Hearing the gates open, a guard who was also in the room ran down to see what was going on. As soon as he presented his back, Corvo strangled him powerfully and put him to sleep.

Reaching the Outer Door, Corvo deployed the explosives and set them on a ten second timer. He ran back into cover.

10...

9...

8...

7...

6...

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

BOOM!

The Outer Gate was blown into smithereens and chunks of rubble were flying everywhere. Corvo ran out into the sunlight and paused. To his right, was a group of a dozen guards and before him was the river. He jumped. As he fell he heard a dozen gunshots and could see the bullets whizzing past his head.

Splash!

Corvo landed into the cold water of the river and swam to the entrance of the sewer. Getting out of the murky water, Corvo entered the Sewers. He was free!


	3. The Escape: Dunwall Sewers

Corvo almost choked when he entered the Sewers of Dunwall simply from the smell of the place. After taking a few short moments to compose himself, Corvo plunged deeper into the Sewers. He'd only walked a short way when he stopped at a door to hear two voices chatting to one another.

"He used some kind of explosive to blast his way out. That doesn't happen. At least most of the time," one of them said.

It wasn't my most subtle work but it seems to be turning out alright, Corvo felt the hint of a smile touch his lips for the first time in six months.

"Ya think he had help? Who'd know how to do that?" replied the other.

"I don't know, what about the Bottle Street Gang?" The first voice suggested.

"I dunno so for all I care it might as well be them."

Corvo tried to open the door only to find that it was locked. He looked for an alternate route and while doing so, he found a note.

Corvo, if you're reading this it means our plan worked and you've broken free from Coldridge. One of our contacts has hidden weapons for you somewhere deeper in the sewer. Grab the gear and find Samuel where these tunnels dump out into the river. He will bring you to us.

-A Friend Who Will Meet You Soon

Weapons from a friend, Corvo thought, Who could ask for more?

After several seconds, Corvo found a way past the door via a crawl space to the right of it.

At that moment Corvo saw two City Watch guards, whom he assumed to be the two he had previously heard talking, walk through a set of double doors. As if they had been waiting, a large swarm of rats poured out from the shadows and proceeded to tear the two apart.

Corvo averted his eyes from the horror before him and when he looked back all that remained was bone. With the horrific sight embedded into his memory, Corvo continued on his way.

He soon made his way to a set of twin walkways separated by a thin channel of sewer water. On the right walkway he saw a group of rats eating a dead body. Corvo quickly slipped past the rats not wanting to end up like the guards he had seen before.

Reaching the end of the walkway, Corvo was forced to dive into the icy water of the channel. He swam on under a bridge and then emerged from the water and walked up a short stair-case. At the top he came upon a door with a crank wheel beside it and a corpse leaning over the wheel.

Corvo yanked the dead man off of the wheel and turned it. Slowly, the door creaked open and Corvo continued his trek through the Dunwall sewage system. He had then found himself in a large chamber where bodies where being dumped from a hole in the ceiling. At one end of the room there was a door leading out that had another one of those crank wheels beside it.

"Aren't we supposed to take these bodies in carts down to the Flooded District?" Corvo heard a voice asking from the surface.

"Yeah but that's too far," a second voice replied. "I don't wanna catch the goddamn plague. Do you?"

"Of course not but doesn't the Elixir prevent it," the first voice said questionably.

"I know, but it's easier to just leave them for the rats," the second said, ending their conversation.

Several bodies fell from the hole and then Corvo heard the two of the men walk away. Before his eyes, swarms of rats rushed toward one of the bodies and began to tear it apart. Corvo quietly proceeded around the edges of the chamber making sure not to be spotted by the rats.

He then climbed up onto a large platform in the centre of the room. Seeing that he would need to leave the safety of the platform to get through the door, Corvo picked up one of the bodies and through it in the other direction to the door and sprinted towards the door as the rats swarmed in on the body he had thrown. He then turned the crank like his life depended on it (which it did).

Just as the rats had finished eating, the door opened and Corvo ran through the door and dove over a short wooden barrier at the moment that the rats reached where he had been standing several seconds ago.

Breathing heavily, Corvo picked himself up and resumed his journey feeling very relieved. He found himself in a sewage area where there were two staircases separated by a thin stream of fast running water.

He quickly ascended the steps and turned to his right and saw that the only way forward was up a chain that was dangling from the roof. He struggled to climb to the top but eventually he was able to jump from the chain onto a ledge.

Just ahead of him there was a staircase with a trip line pulled across it. Corvo ducked underneath it and walked up the stairs. That was where he found a suitcase with a note on top of it.

Greetings Corvo, or should I say Lord Protector, as you were known before that title was wrongfully taken from you.

We are servants of the Empire and of the true Empress, a group of loyalists who want very much to meet these weapons, crafted for you of the finest materials in all the Isles, and meet with our man Samuel, near where these tunnels spill into Wrenhaven River.

All haste and luck. We share a common purpose.

Corvo opened the suitcase and within it he found several things:

A sword with a retractable blade,

A crossbow and bolts (Normal, Sleep Darts, and Incendiary Bolts)

And last but most definitely not least, a set of clean clothes.

Corvo discarded his dirty clothes and replaced them with new, clean ones and then walked through a metal door. He had to duck under another trip line and a few steps after that, he found a note.

Jelly

In case you're too daft to remember, look to your whiskey for the answer. Whiskey, got it?

If you want your share, you'll sort it out. If not, I'll come back for it next month.

Corvo thought for a second, Whiskey? Huh? Beside the note was a safe. Corvo stared at it intently for a few moments then looked behind it and saw some bottles of whiskey on a shelf. Right! He thought. He cleared the bottles from the shelf and clearly enough he saw three numbers. 451.

Corvo put the numbers into the safe and sure enough, it opened up revealing a bottle of Sokolov's Health Elixir and a handful of coins, mostly Coins of 5 or 10 but one or two Coins of 20.

After raiding the safe, Corvo resumed his journey through the sewers. As he was walking he heard a conversation.

"He won't get past me sir," said one voice.

"Do you know who we're hunting here?" a second voice asked, "It's Corvo, the guy who killed the Empress. Don't try to take him on your own."

"What do I do if none of the squad's around?" The first voice asked.

"Try to make a lot of noise when you die," the second voice said, "Knock something over."

Corvo heard footsteps and then the first voice murmuring, "Asshole!"

Corvo ducked low and crept onwards and as he had expected standing not ten metres from him was a young member of the City Watch standing cautiously with his hand at his blade looking around as if he could be attacked at any moment.

I suppose he is right in a way, Corvo mused silently.

Using his newly acquired sleep darts, Corvo put the young man to sleep and caught his body just before it came into impact with the metal flooring and laid the body on top of a stack of boxes to save him from the rats.

Moving on, but staying low The Lord Protector turned a corner to see a

pretentious-looking officer strutting backwards and forwards around his

squad of three men. Corvo could see he wouldn't be able to sneak past all of them and decided to take a slightly more direct approach.

He primed a sleep dart on his crossbow for a shot at the officer and fired. A loud thud echoed throughout the chamber as a body hit the floor. Immediately, the chamber was abuzz with shouting but in quick succession three more bodies fell to the metal floor.

Corvo strode past the unconscious group and sniffed the air. I can smell the sea, he thought excitedly. He sprinted through the sewer and in no time, he found himself standing outside in the not-so-fresh air.

"Hello Corvo," a middle-aged man with greyish-black hair greeted the Lord Protector. "You Samuel?" Corvo asked hesitantly.

"That would be me." Samuel assured him, "I wasn't even sure you would make it out but I'm supposed to take you to my employers so..." He gestured to his boat.

"Thanks." Corvo said sitting down for what felt like the first time in six months. "You might wanna rest on the way there 'cause you definitely look like you need it. And we're away"

Author's Note

Sorry that it's been so long since I have uploaded a chapter. I'll try to be more consistent from now on.


End file.
